Amateur golfBrian KeoghSouth of Ireland Championship, Joshua Hill, TJ Ford, Richard Knightly, Lahinch

Joshua Hill fires 62 and defending champion TJ Ford 64 at windless Lahinch

Amateur golfBrian KeoghSouth of Ireland Championship, Joshua Hill, TJ Ford, Richard Knightly, Lahinch
Joshua Hill fires 62 and defending champion TJ Ford 64 at windless Lahinch

Joshua Hill (Galgorm Castle) pictured after shooting a ten under par 62 to lead in the clubhouse in the 120th South of Ireland Championship in Lahinch, sponsored by Pierse Motors. Picture: Niall O'Shea

Teenager Joshua Hill insisted he never thought about shooting 59 as he took advantage of windless conditions and fired 11 birdies in a 10-under 62 to lead the qualifiers for matchplay in the Pierse Motors sponsored South of Ireland Championship at Lahinch.

The Galgorm Castle star, 18, birdied the 16th from four inches to head to the 17th needing a birdie-eagle finish for a magical 59.

But while he ended up lipping out from around 10 feet for birdies on the last two greens, his career-low, 10-under 62 saw him top the qualifiers by two shots from defending champion TJ Ford from Co Sligo on 12-under 132.

“To be honest with you, I was just trying to qualify and shooting 59 never entered my head, not even when I birdied 16,” said Hill, 19 next month, who made 11 birdies with his only error a three-putt bogey at the eighth.

“I just wanted to qualify and I was playing safe to the middle of the greens and all of sudden 30 and 40 footers started to drop on the front nine.

“Then on the back nine I thought I might as well go for it a little bit and have fun with it. It was good fun out there.”

Scores

“It’s my lowest ever competitive round,” added Hill, 19 next month, who made 11 birdies with his only major error a three-putt bogey at the short eighth. “I just wanted to qualify and I was playing safe to the middle of the greens and all of sudden 30 and 40-footers started to drop on the front nine.

“Then on the back nine, I thought I might as well go for it a little bit and have fun with it. It was good fun out there.”

Now taking a gap year before he heads to the University of South Alabama, he’s looking to make a run at his first senior title last week after going down to beaten finalist Alan Fahy in last year’s quarter-finals.

After getting up and down for a birdie from left of the second, he made a 30-footer at the third to go two-under.

“From there on in they were just dropping everywhere,” he said. “I chipped up to six feet on four and made that, missed a 10-footer on five but made a 50-footer on six after hitting a safe nine-iron to the middle of the green.

“On seven I hit a 50 degree to 12 feet, three putted the eighth from 30 feet - it was a big breaking putt - but then on nine I nearly drove the green, duffed my chip and made a 30 footer.”

Out in five-under 31, he started for home with four successive birdies, making a 10-footer at the 10th and a six-footer at the par-three 11th before getting up and down for his birdie four at the 12th to go eight-under for the round.

“I hit a hybrid on the green at the 13th and missed from around 10 feet for eagle, two-putted the 14th and 15th and then on 16 I hit a nine-iron to about four inches.”

Now 10-under, he needed a birdie-eagle finish to shoot 59 but lipped out for birdies on the last two greens from around 11 and eight feet.

“The lie wasn’t great in the right rough at the last and I had 240 and hit eight-iron playing for front left and chipped up to eight feet,” Hill said. “I thought I had the putt but it just lipped out.”

Third in the Munster Stroke Play, 18th in the Flogas Irish Amateur Open and 14th in the North of Ireland, the young Ballymena star is looking to make his career in golf.

“I’d like to go pro and give it a go and have the chance to fall back and be a golf coach if it doesn’t work out,” said Hill, who is 15th in the Bridgestone Order of Merit and would likely need to win this week to earn a call up for next month’s Home Internationals at Ballyliffin. “I am playing Mullingar and the Close but the Homes team is picked after this so I would have to go pretty far.”

As for the South, he’s loving the experience again having reached the last eight 12 months ago.

“I prefer strokeplay because today kind of feels like nothing now, and it’s all back to all square,” said Hill, who is coached by Barry McGoldrick at Galgorm Castle. “It’s lovely down here and I will definitely enjoy it. It’s been a while since I won the McGregor Trophy for the English Under 16s in 2019.

“I also won the Connacht and Leinster that year. Since then I have been playing alright and had a lot of top 20s.”

Defending champion Ford (25), the tall and powerful County Sligo man, enjoyed a timely return to form as he carded a bogey-free, eight-under 64 to sit alone in second in the clubhouse on 10-under.

“I took the year off after the West to play full time and I’ve been playing pretty terribly ever since,” Ford joked. “I was working for a golf marketing company and enjoying it but I wanted to take the year out and not look back on it and regret not playing a full schedule. I am glad I did. I wish I had played a bit better but it’s been a good year and nice to travel around.”

Ford birdied his last two holes on Wednesday to open with a two-under 70 but with no breeze and the pins accessible on what was essentially the white course, he was thrilled to shoot the lights out.

“I played okay yesterday and finished quite strong but today the weather was perfect and the course was perfect, the stars aligned and putts dropped.

“I hit it really well and the only hole where I was sweating was the 15th, where I hit it left of the green and then on the last where I made a 25 footer for par after hacking it up the left.”

Ford birdied the par-five second and fourth, the saw his approach to the Dell kick on from the rough and finish four feet away.

He made a 30 footer at the seventh and a 10 footer at the ninth to turn in 31, then brushed in a three footer at the 11th, chipped and putted for birdie at the 12th before following a chip and putt par save at the 15th with a nine-iron to 10 feet to set up his eighth birdie of the day at the 16th.

With his confidence restored for the matchplay, he doesn’t rule out making a run at the title.

“It would be nice but there is a lot of golf to be played before that,” he said of his bid to become the first player to retain the title since Michael Guerin won three times in a row in 1961, 1962 and 1963.

North of Ireland champion Hugh Foley from Royal Dublin shot 68 to tie for fourth with clubmate and Munster interprovincial Richard Knightly (70) and East of Ireland champion Alex Maguire (69) on seven-under as the cut for the top 64 fell at two-over par 146 with three of the five players on that mark surviving.

Castletroy’s Andrew McCormack tied for 14th on three-under after a 71 with Faithlegg’s Alex King and Douglas’ Peter O’Keeffe 23rd on two-under after rounds of 71 and 72 respectively.

Both Lahinch entrants made the cut with Stephen Loftus tied 29th on one-under after a 74 and Aaron McNulty’s closing birdie for a 73 enough to make it on one-over.

Despite opening rounds of 75 or higher, Forrest Little’s Jack McDonnell (66), The Heritage’s Shane Hogan (67) and Carton House’s Jack Doherty (68) all produced brilliant second rounds to jump at least 55 places up the leaderboard and comfortably qualify for the top-64.

Dundalk’s Eoin Murphy made it with a shot to spare on one-over despite arriving late on the tee and incurring a two-shot penalty to open with a triple bogey seven.

He made five birdies in his next 12 holes, then followed bogeys at the 14th and 15th with a closing birdie for a 71 to make it on one-under.

Galway international Liam Nolan eagled the 18th for the second day running to also make it on one-over after a 73.

South of Ireland Amateur Open, sponsored by Pierse Motors Volkswagen, Lahinch GC (Par 72)

First rd

  1. 07:00 J Hill (Galgorm Castle) v H Gillivan (Westport);

  2. 07:09 A Collins (Laytown & Bettystown) v R Abernethy (Dun Laoghaire)

  3. 07:18 J McDonnell (Forrest Little) v S McLoughlin (Co. Sligo);

  4. 07:27 R Cannon (Balbriggan) v D Keating (Seapoint):

  5. 07:36 A Fahy (Bray) v L Nolan (Galway);

  6. 07:45 R Latimer (Clandeboye) v S Hogan (The Heritage);

  7. 07:54 C Denvir (Elm Park) v S O’Brien (Nenagh);

  8. 08:03 M Dodd (St. Anne’s) v J Doherty (Carton House);

  9. 08:12 A Maguire (Laytown & Bettystown) v C Harkin (Letterkenny);

  10. 08:21 P O’ Keeffe (Douglas) v M Boucher (Carton House);

  11. 08:30 H Fanagan (Milltown) v J Hewitt (Tandragee);

  12. 08:39 A McCormack (Castletroy) v J Hearn (Tramore);

  13. 08:48 R Knightly (Royal Dublin) v D Flynn (Carton House);

  14. 08:57 P Coughlan (Castleknock) v J Rackard (Enniscorthy);

  15. 09:06 K Egan (Carton House) v M Mullen (Rosslare);

  16. 09:15 J Cleary (Elm Park) v A Riordan (Blarney);

  17. 09:24 TJ Ford (Co. Sligo) v G O’Neill (Malahide);

  18. 09:33 D Reddan Jnr (Nenagh) v B St. John (Portmarnock);

  19. 09:42 J Hood (Galgorm Castle) v D Kelleher (Blarney);

  20. 09:51 M Kennedy (Royal Dublin) v P Conroy (Enniscorthy);

  21. 10:00 C Rafferty (Dundalk) v A McNulty (Lahinch);

  22. 10:09 D Hogg (Belvoir Park) v S Loftus (Lahinch);

  23. 10:18 D Kitt (Athenry) v P Adler (North Shore Country Club, USA);

  24. 10:27 R Brazill (Naas) v P O’Hanlon (Carton House);

  25. 10:36 H Foley (Royal Dublin) v G O’Flaherty (Cork);

  26. 10:45 J McCabe (Roganstown) v J Whelan (Grange);

  27. 10:54 J Foley (Elm Park) v E Murphy (Dundalk);

  28. 11:03 J Madden (Royal Portrush) v D O’Sullivan (Tralee);

  29. 11:12 C Campbell Jnr (Warrenpoint) v E Farrell (Ardee);

  30. 11:21 A King (Faithlegg) v K Morris (Wexford);

  31. 11:30 S Flanagan (Portmarnock) v E Sullivan (Carton House);

  32. 11:39 J Robinson (Lisburn) v D O’Riordan (Fermoy).


Qualifiers - Detailed scores

132 J Hill (Galgorm Castle) 70 62;

134 T Ford (Co. Sligo) 70 64;

135 C Denvir (Elm Park Golf & Sports Club) 71 64;

137 H Foley (Royal Dublin) 69 68, A Maguire (Laytown & Bettystown GC) 68 69, R Knightly (Royal Dublin) 67 70;

139 D Kitt (Athenry) 69 70;

140 S Flanagan (Portmarnock) 70 70, C Campbell (Warrenpoint) 70 70, K Egan (Carton House) 70 70, H Fanagan (Milltown) 70 70, J Foley (Elm Park) 69 71, J Hood (Galgorm Castle) 67 73;

141 J McDonnell (Forrest Little) 75 66, R Cannon (Balbriggan) 74 67, M Kennedy (Royal Dublin) 72 69, C Rafferty (Dundalk) 72 69, J Madden (Royal Portrush) 71 70, A McCormack (Castletroy) 70 71, J Cleary (Elm Park) 70 71, J Robinson (Lisburn) 69 72, R Brazill (Naas) 68 73;

142 M Dodd (St. Anne's) 73 69, R Latimer (Clandeboye) 72 70, D Hogg (Belvoir Park) 72 70, A King (Faithlegg) 71 71, P Coughlan (Castleknock) 70 72, P O' Keeffe (Douglas) 70 72;

143 J McCabe (Roganstown) 75 68, D Reddan Jnr (Nenagh) 74 69, A Collins (Laytown & Bettystown GC) 73 70, R Abernethy (Dun Laoghaire) 73 70, B St. John (Portmarnock) 73 70, J Whelan (Grange) 72 71, M Boucher (Carton House) 72 71, J Rackard (Enniscorthy) 70 73, K Morris (Wexford) 70 73, S Loftus (Lahinch) 69 74;

144 S Hogan (The Heritage) 77 67, J Doherty (Carton House) 76 68, P O'Hanlon (Carton House) 75 69, D O'Riordan (Fermoy) 73 71, A Fahy (Bray) 73 71, A Riordan (Blarney) 72 72, J Hearn (Tramore) 72 72, D O'Sullivan (Tralee) 72 72, P Conroy (Enniscorthy) 71 73, D Keating (Seapoint) 70 74

145 S McLoughlin (Co. Sligo) 76 69, D Kelleher (Blarney) 75 70, E Murphy (Dundalk) 74 71, J Hewitt (Tandragee) 74 71, M Mullen (Rosslare) 74 71, E Sullivan (Carton House) 73 72, P Adler (North Shore Country Club) 73 72, S O'Brien (Nenagh) 73 72, L Nolan (Galway) 72 73, A McNulty (Lahinch) 72 73, E Farrell (Ardee) 70 75, D Flynn (Carton House) 70 75;

146 C Harkin (Letterkenny) 75 71, G O'Flaherty (Cork) 74 72, G O'Neill (Malahide) 74 72, H Gillivan (Westport) 73 73.

Non-qualifiers

146 J Butler (Killeen) 73 73, K McCarron (North West) 70 76;

147 F Dobbin (Malone) 78 69, R Galligan (Elm Park Golf & Sports Club) 77 70, S Hogan (Nenagh) 76 71, K Robinson (Castlewarden) 76 71, S Lillis (Kilrush) 75 72, C Ryan (Bray) 75 72, J Blake (The Island) 73 74, A Brady (Co. Sligo) 72 75

148 E Dunlea (Killarney) 77 71, P O Dochartaigh (Gweedore) 75 73, A McCabe (The Links Portmarnock) 75 73, Q Carew (Castleknock) 75 73, C Hickey (Dooks) 75 73, R McNelis (Fintona) 74 74, M Murphy (Clandeboye) 74 74, J Hanney (The Island) 73 75, T Dowdall (Woodbrook) 71 77;

149 I O'Connell (Castleknock) 78 71, M Auerbach (Bellport) 78 71, L Cunningham (Galway Bay) 77 72, E Shipp (Headfort) 77 72, S O'Neill (Killarney) 76 73, P Murray (Tramore) 76 73, N Hearns (Mountrath) 75 74, S McDermott (Slieve Russell) 74 75, M Deasy (Douglas) 74 75, D Muldowney (Carton House) 73 76, J Walsh (Douglas) 73 76;

150 K Bornemann (Douglas) 79 71, L Abom (Edmondstown) 78 72, J Greene (Portmarnock) 77 73, K Murphy (Arklow) 77 73, R Walsh Jnr (Douglas) 76 74, B Keenan (The Heath) 76 74, A Smith (Mullingar) 75 75, A Hickey (Ballyhaunis) 75 75;

151 D Foy (Laytown & Bettystown GC) 80 71, S Murphy (Portumna) 78 73, K Howard (Dromoland) 78 73, C Kenny (Portmarnock) 77 74, J Byrne (Baltinglass) 76 75, M McKinstry (Cairndhu) 76 75, T Higgins (Roscommon) 75 76, S McAufield (Ardee) 75 76, P Sheehan (Ballybunion) 73 78;

152 I Lynch (Rosslare) 77 75, P McGrath (Galway Bay) 77 75, R Fitzpatrick (Naas) 76 76, G Collins (Rosslare) 75 77, R Williamson (Holywood) 75 77, L O'Connor (Edmondstown) 75 77, P Buckley (Cork) 75 77, S Desmond (Monkstown) 74 78, A Dooley (Carton House) 74 78, J Fox (Portmarnock) 74 78;

153 T Plunkett (Crover House) 84 69, D Shiel (Powerscourt) 77 76, A Marshall (Lisburn) 77 76, M O Sullivan (Ballyneety) 76 77;

154 R Kennelly (Castleknock) 81 73, J Rowe (Belvoir Park) 78 76, D Hogan (Killeen Castle) 78 76, C Byrne (Strabane) 73 81;

155 S Addie (Kilmarnock Barassie) 79 76, R O'Connor (Co. Sligo) 72 83;

156 A McCormick (Scrabo) 80 76, S O'Rourke (Tulfarris) 79 77, C Johnston (Dundalk) 77 79, J O'Neill (Tralee) 75 81;

157 C Butler (Kinsale) 83 74, J O'Driscoll (Grange) 83 74;

158 J Boles (Charleville) 82 76, S McDermott (Esker Hills) 80 78;

159 P Flynn (Tramore) 79 80, J Lyons (Galway) 77 82;

161 C Hall (Castletroy) 79 82;

163 S O’Connell (Athenry) 85 78;

164 J Kelly (Ardee) 84 80, D Byrne (The Els Club Dubai) 78 86;

165 M Giles (Greenore) 85 80;

169 J O'Leary (Golf Club at Terra Lago) 77 92;

RTD 81 S Whelan (Royal Tara), 79 D Connellan (St. Anne’s), D Smith (Palmerstown House Estate).